U.S. patent number 5,325,156 [Application Number 07/979,033] was granted by the patent office on 1994-06-28 for service call initiation and feedback interface for a reprographic machine.
This patent grant is currently assigned to Xerox Corporation. Invention is credited to John S. Ulinski.
United States Patent |
5,325,156 |
Ulinski |
June 28, 1994 |
Service call initiation and feedback interface for a reprographic
machine
Abstract
A service call system for reprographic machines includes an
operator initiated calling routine that automatically communicates
the machine with a remote diagnostic or service facility.
Predetermined data relating to the identity of the machine and the
nature of the fault are communicated at the time of the initial
call. The system provides for interactive communication to obtain
additional information or display status messages at the
reprographic machine.
Inventors: |
Ulinski; John S. (Pittsford,
NY) |
Assignee: |
Xerox Corporation (Stamford,
CT)
|
Family
ID: |
25526626 |
Appl.
No.: |
07/979,033 |
Filed: |
November 20, 1992 |
Current U.S.
Class: |
399/8; 399/10;
399/81; 714/46; 714/E11.173 |
Current CPC
Class: |
G03G
15/5079 (20130101); G06F 11/2294 (20130101); G03G
15/55 (20130101) |
Current International
Class: |
G03G
15/00 (20060101); G06F 11/273 (20060101); G03G
015/00 (); G03G 021/00 () |
Field of
Search: |
;355/200,202,204,206,209
;371/16.4 |
References Cited
[Referenced By]
U.S. Patent Documents
Primary Examiner: Braun; Fred L.
Attorney, Agent or Firm: Oliff & Berridge
Claims
What is claimed is:
1. A service request system for a reprographic machine
comprising:
first storing means for storing identity information relating to
identification of the reprographic machine;
second storing means for storing machine status information
relating to the reprographic machine;
a user interface means at the reprographic machine for establishing
communication with a remote facility via a communication line;
a user-activated means for initiating a communication to the remote
facility via the user interface;
transmission means responsive to actuation of the user-activated
means for causing automatic transmission along the communication
line of the identity information, at least some of the machine
status information and a request for service to the remote
facility; and
diagnostic means at the remote facility actuated in response to the
transmission means for making a diagnosis of the reprographic
machine in the remote facility and relaying at least one of the
diagnosis and information relating to the request for service along
the communication line back to the user interface.
2. A system as in claim 1, wherein the machine status information
comprises machine physical data.
3. A system as in claim 2, wherein the second storing means
comprises a non-volatile memory located in the reprographic
machine.
4. A system as in claim 1, further comprising:
an input means for providing information to be transmitted to the
remote service facility; and
means for transmitting information provided by the input means to
the remote facility when the user-activated means is activated.
5. A system as in claim 1, further comprising:
a message sending device at the remote facility;
a display at the location of the reprographic machine; and
means for causing a message from the remote facility to be
displayed on the display.
6. A system as in claim 5, wherein the user-activated means and the
display means comprise a touchscreen user interface.
Description
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to reprographic machines. It has particular
applicability to service call systems for reprographic
machines.
2. Description of Related Developments
Recently, systems for monitoring the operation of a plurality of
reprographic machines from a remote source by use of a powerful
host computer having advanced, high level diagnostic capabilities
have been installed. These systems have the capability to interact
remotely with the machines being monitored to receive automatically
initiated or user initiated requests for diagnosis and to interact
with the requesting machine to receive stored data to enable higher
level diagnostic analysis. Such systems are shown in U.S. Pat. Nos.
5,038,319 and 5,057,866 (the disclosures of which are incorporated
herein by reference), owned by the assignee of the present
invention. These systems employ Remote Interactive Communications
(RIC) to enable transfer of selected machine operating data
(referred to as machine physical data) to the remote site at which
the host computer is located, through a suitable communication
channel. The machine physical data may be transmitted from a
monitored document system to the remote site automatically at
predetermined times and/or in response to a specific request from
the host computer.
In a typical RIC system, the host computer is linked via a public
switched telephone system or a combination of public and dedicated
systems to local reprographic machines via modems. The host
computer may include a compiler to allow communication with a
plurality of different types of machines and an expert diagnostic
system that performs higher level analysis of the machine physical
data than is available from the diagnostic system in the machine.
After analysis, the expert system can provide an instruction
message which can be utilized by the machine operator at the site
of the document system to overcome a fault. Alternatively, if the
expert system determines that more serious repair is necessary or a
preventive repair is desirable, a message is sent to a local field
work office giving the identity of the machine and a general
indication of the type of service action required.
A call for service is initiated by an operator at the machine
location and is transmitted orally by telephone from the local
machine operator to an operator at the host computer or at a local
field work support system. This system is disadvantageous from the
standpoint that the communication between the local machine
operator and the remote operator is oral, the local operator
commonly has only limited information about the technical aspects
of the machine requiring repair and the local operator normally has
little time to spend in communicating the information. The result
is that the remote operator receives only limited or erroneous
information relating to the identity of the machine requiring
service and only a brief description of the problem requiring a
repair action. If the faulted machine is erroneously identified in
the oral communication between the local and remote operators, the
remedial information necessary to effect a repair may be
misdirected or may be inappropriate to the faulted machine, thereby
causing delay in returning the machine to service and adding
expense to the repair procedure. Further, in many instances, the
local operator has no indication of the status of the repair
request or an indication of when repair procedures will be
made.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
This invention provides for improved communication between a
faulted machine and a central diagnostic system or local field
service facility. A user interface at the faulted machine is used
to establish communication with a remote diagnostic or service
facility, automatically transmit machine identity and physical
data, with or without additional operator-supplied information, and
to accept and display status messages, without the need for oral
communication.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
FIG. 1 shows a typical reprographic machine having a user interface
suitable for use with the present invention;
FIG. 2 is a schematic diagram of reprographic equipment having a
user interface for communicating with a remote diagnostic or
service facility;
FIG. 3 is a schematic illustration of the remote diagnostic or
service site depicted as element 60 in FIG. 2;
FIG. 4 illustrates a typical pull down menu for enabling a call for
service; and
FIG. 5 is a f low chart of communication routine.
DESCRIPTION OF PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS
Referring to FIG. 1, there is shown an electrophotographic
reproduction machine 10 composed of a plurality of programmable
components and subsystems which cooperate to carry out copying or
printing jobs programmed through a touch dialog screen 12 of a user
interface (UI) 11. Internal operating systems of the machine 10 are
disclosed in U.S. Pat. Nos. 5,038,319 and 5,057,886 and no further
detailed description thereof is necessary.
Referring to FIG. 2, operation of the various components of machine
10 is regulated by a control system which uses operating software
stored in memory in the system controller 16 to operate the various
machine components in an integrated fashion to produce copies and
prints. The control system includes a plurality of printed wiring
boards (PWBs), there being a user interface module core PWB 18, a
marking imaging core PWB 20, an input station core PWB 22, a paper
handling core PWB 24 and an output station core PWB 26, together
with various input/output (I/O) PWBs 28. A shared line (SL) 30
couples the core PWBs 18, 20, 22, 24 and 26 with each other and
with the electronic data node core 32, while local buses 34 serve
to couple the I/O PWBs to the respective cores and to stepper and
servo PWBS. Programming and operating control over machine 10 is
accomplished through touch dialogue screen 12 of UI 11. The
operating software includes application software for implementing
and coordinating operation of the machine components.
Floppy disk port 38 provides program loading access to UIM core PWB
18 for the purpose of entering changes to the operating software,
loading specific programs, such as diagnostic programs, and
retrieving stored data, such as machine history data and fault
data, etc. using floppy disks. Hard disk 36 is utilized as a
non-volatile memory (NVM) to store programs, machine physical data,
and specific machine identity information.
A two-way flow of information from the UI system manager of core 18
is provided through the generic accessories interface input/output
processor 46, which includes remote access control software and
accessories control software. Information from and to the generic
accessories interface processor 46 is controlled by modem control
software in the modem 48. That information is transferred via a
public switched telephone network, dedicated transmission network,
or other data transmission network to and from a remote service
site 60.
UIM core PWB 18 communicates with video engine 40 for driving a
suitable visual display 42, such as a CRT or flat screen of the
user interface 11. The UIM core 18 also has connected thereto a
control panel I/O processor 44 and a generic accessories interface
I/O processor 46. The interface I/O processor 46 is in turn
connected to a modem PWB 48. The modem 48 provides communication
between machine 10 and a communications channel, such as a public
switched telephone network 50.
Information in the form of signals to or from the electromechanical
devices on the servo PWBs and stepper PWBs is transferred to and
from the digital I/O PWBs 28. Information from and control
information to the PWBs 28 is centralized through the subsystem
cores, such as cores 20, 22, 24 and 26.
The information from the subsystem cores flows to and from the UIM
core 18, which embodies software control systems including a user
interface system manager and a user interface diagnostic manager.
The UI system manager includes a UI display manager subsystem for
controlling the display of messages on the display 42. A data
manager subsystem provides data management to the UI system
manager. The UIM core 18 includes an alert criteria file 80,
preferably implemented in software, and a communication switch 82,
also implemented in software.
The alert criteria file stores in non-volatile memory, such as hard
disk 36, a plurality of alert criteria that are or can be
indicative of a machine malfunction. The alert criteria file 80
receives inputs of machine physical data from sensors in the
various subsystems of machine 10. This data is handled through the
respective system cores 20, 22, 24 and 26 and is supplied to the
alert criteria file 80 through the system bus 30. When the alert
criteria file identifies an alert condition, the file 80 provides a
command to the UIM core management software to display the
appropriate system alert on the interface 11, thereby providing a
visual message or alarm to the operator. Various alert criteria can
be stored on hard disk 36 and no further description of such
criteria is necessary, as such criteria are generally known. When
an alert message is displayed on UI 11, the operator has an option
to request further diagnosis or service through the touchscreen 12
of the user interface 11. For this purpose, an appropriate pull
down menu, such as shown in FIG. 4, may be used for activating
software communications switch 82 and for providing input of any
additional information that the operator finds appropriate to send
with a call for service. When the switch 82 is actuated through the
touchscreen 12, machine identity data is directed through switch 82
to the generic accessories interface input/output processor 46 for
communication via the modem 48 to the remote diagnostic or repair
site 60. The message that is sent through switch 82 comprises
information necessary to identify the machine by model, serial
number and location.
To enable the call for service feature of the invention, the
capability is activated by setting a flag in memory that is in a
generic protocol in the UIM core, which protocol provides access to
NVM 36 through the touchscreen 12 via the pull down menu 100 shown
in FIG. 4. Display management systems for pull-down menus are known
and no further detailed explanation of them is necessary here. It
will be understood that during initialization, other information to
enable RIC, such as modem parameters, machine model identity,
machine serial number, and host computer telephone number have been
entered in NVM 36. This information is handled as an initial data
string that is provided to host computer 86 when initiating a
service call.
As shown in FIG. 4, the pull down menu also can include a fault
description capability enabling the operator to enter common faults
by code number or by written description in the fault description
screen 102. Such fault description information also can be included
in the initial data string sent to host computer 84. To initiate a
call for service, the operator may engage the touchscreen 12 by
hand at the location of the call for service icon 104 or select the
icon with a mouse.
When the call for service icon is activated, the machine 10
attempts to place a call to the host computer 84 via the
dial/redial routine shown in the flow chart of FIG. 5. Activation
of the icon 104 starts a dial session at step S1. The machine 10
may include a hierarchy of dial routines for events of various
urgency levels. Usually, a call for service will be assigned to a
high priority call routine which initiates an immediate call to the
host computer 84.
At step S2, the modem 48 is initialized and the dialing routine
begins. Processing close to step S3 to determine if the count of
calls attempted during the session equals a predetermined number N.
N sets the number of redials attempted by the routine. At step S4
the host telephone number is dialed and at step S5 the system
detects the presence either of a response code or the elapse of a
predetermined time.
At S6 a determination is made if a carrier line is detected. If a
carrier line is detected, the processing goes to a logon procedure
of a known type for logging on to host computer 84 in step S7.
During the logon procedure the initial data string is transmitted
from the NVM to the host computer and the call is identified by at
least one bit of the data stream as a call for service. In step S8
a determination is made if a successful connection to the host
computer is made and if an affirmative determination is made, the
processing goes to step 510 which comprises a data transfer
session. In the data transfer session, the information from the
alert criteria file and any machine physical data initiating the
alert is transmitted to host computer 84. If at S8, a negative
determination is made, processing flows to step S9, in which a
counter is incremented by one and processing returns to S2.
If a negative determination is made in step S6, in step S11, an
inquiry is made if the reason for the lack of a carrier is a
communication system event, if so, processing flows to step S9 and
a retry is made. If the determination made in step S11 is negative,
processing flows to step S12 wherein a determination is made if the
attempted telephone number is invalid. If the determination in step
S12 is affirmative, the dial session ends and if the determination
in step S12 is negative, processing flows to step S9 and a redial
is initiated. If the count at step S3 equals the predetermined
count, the dial session ends and may be retried under the control
of a suitable restarting routine.
Referring to FIG. 3, at a remote diagnostic site 60 there is
typically a host computer 84 having appropriate stored software for
overall control of the computer 84. In order to enable the computer
84 to communicate with a plurality of different machine types, a
compiler 86 is utilized to convert all incoming data into a common
machine format. The information from the compiler 86 is provided to
an addressable file 88 in which the identities of all machines
served by the computer 84 may be stored. The file 88 may also store
historical machine physical data and repair histories for each
reprographic machine that is serviced by the system. In the event
the communication to computer 84 is a request for service, the
information from the file 88 for the machine requesting service is
provided to diagnostic subsystem 90. The portion of the file for
the reprographic machine requesting service is identified by the
initial data stream received by host computer 84 during the logon
procedure. The diagnostic subsystem 90 includes diagnostic routines
that are of a higher level than those normally a part of any
diagnostic system within the machine 10. On the basis of the
information provided from the file 88, the subsystem 90 determines
appropriate corrective measures and supplies direction to a message
translation table for providing diagnostic information that can be
communicated back to the machine 10 for display, for example on
user interface 11, thereby enabling the operator to apply the
appropriate corrective action to restart the machine. If the
diagnostic subsystem 90 determines that additional machine physical
data is necessary to diagnose the machine 10, a return flow of
commands issues from host computer 84 through automatic call
capabilities (not shown) to reprographic machine 10. The commands
may place a request for additional information on the user
interface 11 or obtain the required information directly from an
NVM, such as hard disk 36, within the machine 10.
The host computer 84 also provides status information, through the
communication link 50 back to the user interface 11 to advise the
operator of the status of the service request. This information can
be provided on the basis of schedule information and subroutines
available in the control software of the computer 84 or can be
manually provided through an input terminal 92, such as a keyboard
and display unit, through an interface port 94. If the results of
the diagnostic routines performed in the diagnostic subsystem 90
indicate that a repair call by a service representative is
necessary to restart the reprographic machine 10, an operator at
the service site 60 can provide this information, entered through
input unit 92, for display at the user interface 11. Such
information can include the name of the service representative
assigned and the estimated time of arrival. The status information
may be stored in the file 88 and either provided automatically to
machine 10 or upon request from machine 10. The data stream sent by
host computer 84 to machine 10 can include an appropriate
identifier bit for identifying the data stream as status
information. The status information is directed by the processor in
UIM core 18 to video engine 40, to display status information in
the status field 106 of the pull down menu shown in FIG. 4.
The communications switch 82 also includes a call for status
request, which is preferably implemented through menu 100 displayed
on UI 11. The call is initiated by the operator on menu 100 by
actuation of the call for status icon 105, through touchscreen 12
or by use of a mouse. Basically the same procedure described above
with respect to the call for service is followed with respect to
the call for status. The initial stream includes a unique
identifier for indicating that the call is for status. The status
call is identified as such and communicated to host computer 84,
including the necessary information from hard disk 36 for
identifying the requesting machine. As described above, information
regarding repair status for each machine 10 is stored in computer
84, preferably in file 88. The status information is entered and
updated in file 88 through input terminal 92 by the host computer
operator. When a call for status is received, the host computer 84
directs the status information back to machine 10, through
communications system 50, for display on the UI 11. When service
has been completed, an appropriate message can be supplied to the
file 88, either from UI of reprographic machine 10 or from terminal
92 to remove the service call status information from file 88.
The foregoing system provides for the quick and accurate initiation
of a service call automatically, without the need for oral
communication. Thus, any errors that could result from such oral
communication are substantially eliminated. Further, status
information is available and automatically provided at the faulted
machine without the need for oral communication with personnel at
the machine site. This provides improved customer satisfaction and
can contribute to lower service costs.
* * * * *